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CultureSettle In With the Multi-Talented Art of Quentin Marmier
A lot of the time here on Fine Art, we feature the work of an artist who does one thing. They might do character art, or level design, that sort of thing. So it’s great today to showcase the work of Quentin Marmier. His work for Ubisoft includes all kinds of stuff, from colouring to…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo President Takes Blame for 3DS, Getting 50 Percent Pay Cut
Today in Tokyo, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressed shareholders regarding the Nintendo 3DS. For Nintendo, things have been better. At Today’s meeting, Iwata said the goal was to address questions why Nintendo cut the 3DS’s price. In an official release from Nintendo detailing the meeting, Iwata acknowledged that the price reduction does help retailers plan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedWater, Water Everywhere, so Let’s Go Fight a War
If you’ve ever wanted to play a video game based on Kevin Costner’s Waterworld, only without Kevin Costner being anywhere near it, you should check out upcoming strategy title Oil Rush With slick cinematic sequences and a pretty game engine, Oil Rush is an RTS set on a future Earth where global catastrophe has risen…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sorry, America, Still No Xenoblade Chronicles for You
Not that this will be too big a surprise for suffering American Wii owners, but in Nintendo’s latest release schedule (out today), there’s still no mention of Xenoblade Chronicles being due for North America. It’s still scheduled for release in Europe, however, on August 19. The game has been the subject of an ongoing campaign…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
3DS Rocks Japanese Retail
Yesterday’s 3DS price-drop was sudden. It caught many off guard, including some Japanese game retailers. One Japanese shop posted a notice that until August 11, when the price drops ¥10,000 (US$129), it will refrain from selling the 3DS. This is leading to speculation that retailers are being burdened with heavy inventories and might take a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Superman Returns (to Liberty City)
Once again showcasing the fact the world of modding PC games is a weird and wonderful place, witness these videos of Superman buzzing around the skies of Grand Theft Auto IV‘s Liberty City. You’ll need a long laundry list of mods and files to get this up and running, but as the vids below show,…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedLet Zelda‘s Ganondorf Sing and Dance His Way into Your Heart
Fuckin Ganondorf, always kidnapping Zelda. But he’s not such a bad guy. Well, no, he is, but he’s actually the sensitive type. You know, singing, tap dancing, the works. This is the latest game musical from RandomEncounters, who previously did “Needlemouse”, a musical about Sonic Thanks for the tip, Peter! You can contact Brian Ashcraft,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why Wear One Pair of StarCraft Sneakers When You Can Rock Three?
Reader Petey is on his way to MLG Anaheim to play some StarCraft. So he looked the part, he had some custom sneakers made, in a StarCraft theme. They’re amazing Why? Because not only did he get three pairs made, one for each of the game’s three races, but each is also customised with unique…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Report: The PS Vita Is Powered by Samsung
According to Japan’s Semiconductor Industry News, Samsung is manufacturing the 45 nanometer processor that will power the PS Vita’s central processing unit. Sony made the PlayStation Portable’s CPU, so the move to Samsung is a remarkable change—remarkable because Samsung goods aren’t traditionally widely sold in Japan for a myriad of reasons (this is changing!). Microsoft,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedFirefall is Making Bug-Killing Look Like a Blast
Firefall is an upcoming co-op shooter for the PC, made by Red 5 Studios, which is helmed by the guy who was team lead on World of Warcraft. So it should know what it’s doing when it comes to online gaming. It certainly looks like it does, as this gameplay trailer is a blast. If…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis The King of Fighters XIII Trailer Is Ready to Rumble
This fall, arcade fighter The King of Fighters XIII is making its way to the PS3 and the Xbox 360. According to the game’s publisher, KOFXIII features “hugely improved features”. Check out the trailer for more info. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Bomberman Will Eat Your Dust and Lick…Your Crack? What?
When I think Bomberman, I think good, clean, wholesome fun. I don’t think of a game where people tell me they’ll “break my fucking head with a ratchet”. Yet with a little digging around the files of 1997 PC game Atomic Bomberman, you’ll find vocal samples like that and many more of a totally not…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Is China a Little Less Joyous This Year?
ChinaJoy, the country’s biggest online game convention, is less for video games and more for something else: ladies in skimpy outfits. They’re called “spicy girls”, and that’s exactly what they’re supposed to add to the show—spice. This year, that is changing. Earlier this year, there were reports that ChinaJoy was getting hard on spicy girl…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Ubisoft Thinks its PC DRM is a “Success” (it is Wrong)
Ubisoft has about the worst digital rights management system in all of PC gaming, forcing users to stay connected to the internet at all times to play a game, even if it’s singleplayer. Yet despite almost universal loathing for it, the company thinks it’s a “success”. An Ubisoft representative told PC Gamer earlier today that…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo’s Former President Just Lost Half a Billion Dollars
A disastrous last quarter in terms of sales has sent Nintendo’s share prices through the floor. If you own Nintendo shares, sorry! But hey, even if you do, it could be worse; spare a thought for former president Hiroshi Yamauchi. He just lost $500,000,000 in one day It’s not like he’ll be out on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Half of All Netflix Users Watch Movies on a Games Console
In May, we learned that Netflix’s console traffic—just movies streaming to consoles now—accounted for 20 percent of Internet bandwidth usage in the United States. We have more data backing up the phenomenon: Half of all the service’s users watch movies on a games console, says Nielsen. What’s more, 42 percent of Netflix users watch directly…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2011 - Uncategorized
Expert Says Blaming Massacres on Video Games Smacks of Racism
When tragedies such as the recent massacre in Oslo, Norway occur, the first place many look to lay blame is in the video games the perpetrators played. According to clinical psychologist Christopher Ferguson, when white males kill and games are blamed, there may be racism at play. While there is concrete evidence that accused Oslo…
By Mike Fahey Published July 28, 2011 - Uncategorized
It’s Lexicon Like Donkey Kong
Having nothing better to do, evidently, Denver’s Westword set out to chart the comprehensive history of “It’s On Like Donkey Kong,” and found that Ice Cube has much to do with the social currency of the phrase, whether a call to celebrate or a challenge to fight. It was copyrighted by Nintendo last year. The…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2011 - Uncategorized
D.C. Universe Online Should See ‘Subtle’ Tie-Ins with Comics’ Relaunch, says Jim Lee
In September, D.C. Comics’ lineup of monthly titles all will restart at issue No. 1, some delivering major changes to their continuities, all of them rebooting—or relaunching, as Jim Lee gently insists it be called. None of this will affect the video game bearing the D.C. name, nor should it. “It’s the platonic ideal,” Lee,…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2011 - Uncategorized
Help Me Think of a Title For This
A buddy is writing a book and enlisted me and a bunch of other friends in a quest to find the perfect title for it. (I can tell you what it’s about but then I’d have to kill you.) This is a hard freaking job, much harder than coming up with superhero names when we…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2011